My Cousin Rachel

Reading this as a middle aged adult is quite a different experience from when I read it as a romantic teenager. This time around I see it as a study of willful self deception intertwined with societal structures that put women in the position of having to beguile men for their security. The character of Philip Ashley starts out as sympathetic, an orphaned boy raised by his benevolent cousin, but quickly becomes insufferably possessive once he develops a fascination for Rachel. In spite of his friends' warnings, he isolates himself and digs deeper into his obsession. Rachel herself may or may not be a danger to him. She certainly leads him on, whether that's because she feels she has to or because she has nefarious purposes is unclear. This is a masterpiece of ambiguity.